


but i thought you might

by Princess_andromeda



Series: The Penguin and the Shark [7]
Category: Free!
Genre: 30 day challenge, Gen, M/M, Vampire!Nagisa, Wizard!Rin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:58:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 7,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16146371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_andromeda/pseuds/Princess_andromeda
Summary: After an attempted murder, Rin seeks the help of an eccentric vampire to hunt the creature that tried to kill him.





	1. Alucard

**Author's Note:**

> Part of this year's 30 day challenge. I'm posting the chapters on Mexico Central Time (-6).

The first thing Rin felt when he woke up was cold.

_'Where am I?’_

Crawling through his skin, seeping through his bones, filling his lungs and reaching his very core.

_'Am I dead?’_

He blinked one eye open, squinting at the too-bright light, and thought that he might not be that far off.

_'Stiff.’_

He tried moving an arm and winced at how stiff it felt. He opened his mouth, which proved to be a bad idea since his throat complained and his tongue felt like sandpaper.

_'Fuck.’_

He blinked a couple of times, and forced himself to sit up straight. He breathed a couple of times, in and out, hoping to relieve the construction in his chest.

Suddenly something metallic fell to the ground.

He turned his head to stare at whatever had made the sound, and the bones in his neck complained with a loud snap. He grunted, and panted, trying to recover from it. Just how long was he _asleep_?

Once he was not in blinding pain, he stared at the thing, or rather, person, that had made the noise. There were a couple of medical tools discarded on the floor, along with a young man who seemed to be a doctor of sorts.

 _No, not a doctor_ , his mind provided, _a man who works in a morgue._

After this train of thought, he looked around and noticed a couple of corpses lying in metal stretchers like the one he was apparently in, too—and hmm, didn't that explain a thing or two—then at the man who looked scared shitless for a couple of seconds more before gathering his wits.

“Ah, I take it you're not a zombie?” He asked nervously, and Rin mentally congratulated his mental strength. He would've said something if not for the rawness of his throat. He shook his head. The thanatologist gave him a sheepish smile. “Not a… vampire or werewolf either?” He sounded almost hopeful, and Rin wanted to snort.

Instead, he coughed a couple of times. The dampness in his throat returning little by little. “Wizard…” he managed to get out, before coughing again.

“Ah, like Haru then.”

Haru? Hmm. The name was foreign to him, so Rin just shrugged. “I guess.”

Suddenly, as if he had just realized it, the man offered him a wary smile. “Tachibana Makoto; thanatologist, as you may have already guessed.” He offered, and then started to pick up his discarded tools. “Nagisa asked me not to start working on you until I was completely sure you were dead, and that if it turned out you were not, to help you recover a bit.”

Rin wanted to ask who this ‘Nagisa’ person was, and how did they know he would wake up? Had it been them the person who killed them?

Some of those thoughts must have filtered through his expression, for Makoto started to flail his arms in a sign of peace. “Ah, nothing of the sorts; Nagisa found you almost dead in the forest, he said that there was some vampire venom in your bloodstream and that it might make you look dead until you didn’t… die.” His explanation was rather vague, but consistent enough for someone who didn’t seem like a supernatural at all.

Rin had already suspected the vampire venom part, as his body was starting to recover little by little; perhaps the venom had started healing the systems that worked even in his subconscious, before going to the systems that worked while he was conscious. He felt like he could actually swallow now without the whole sandpaper-y feel to it, and that he could also stretch without feeling like it was tearing him apart.

“I see…” he swallowed and took a deep breath, staring at the hands in his lap. He then saw a bottle being gently shoved at him; he looked at the thanatologist with idle curiosity.

“Um, Nagisa mentioned you might need water and some food; that sort of stuff when you woke up,” he offered, almost lamely, but Rin appreciated his efforts and help with a nod, before taking little gulps of the water bottle.

“So this Nagisa person…” he capped the bottle, and stared at the remaining water move under the plastic. Makoto must have been thinking of something deep, for he was almost startled to hear his… _patient_ talking again.

“Oh! Nagisa’s a vampire. They were hunting animals when they found you,” he explained, moving to the water faucets and proceeding to wash his hands, apparently preparing himself to actually check one of the corpses in there. “Thye said it was lucky they did, a little later and you might actually have died.”

Rin played with the bottle for a little; he had been looking for potion materials in the woods before he remembered blacking out, and there was the thing with his father…

“Do you think I could go visit them?” He asked, and Makoto seemed surprised for some reason. “I think I ought to thank them, for saving me I mean.” Makoto then nodded, understanding.

“I can give you Nagisa's address.”

* * *

Rin looked again at the address written on the small scrap of paper. Once sure it was the right place (a rather lackluster apartment complex), he took a deep breath and walked in.

After getting out of the morgue, he still had needed a couple of days for his muscles to recover from the cramping; fortunately, he had a couple of potions at his place that acted as pain relievers. Once that was out of the way, he had the sudden thought he needed to investigate who Nagisa was.

The registry in in the public library had nothing of her, and asking the onmyoji that lived there wasn’t an option, so he had resigned himself that he might have to barge in blind.

And blind he was, for the interior was absolute darkness.

He could sense a staircase, and maybe it was just his panic talking but he could also sense presences in the room.

He blinked a couple of times, waiting for the night vision potion to start working, and little by little, only the corners of his vision were unclear.

He walked a couple of staircases, and once he reached apartament 3A, he knocked five times like Makoto had told him to, before the door opened and he was given permission to enter.

In the middle of the room, there were two chair facing each other, and he hoped it was not too presumptuous of him to think one was for visitors. Whoever lived here seemed to thrive off the drama of the setting.

He sat, and was met with the sight of a (perhaps) blond boy with baby features, and his eyes…

They were uncanny eyes.

Even in the darkness, he could see that they were too big and clear, the kind of eyes that could see right through you and show you just how awful a human being you are.

A huge part of Rin wanted to run.

The boy clapped, and some lamps came to life. Rin would have been awed had he not remembered his bad manners and the fact that he had not introduced himself yet.

“My name is Matsuoka Rin,” he said, suddenly standing up and even forgoing the formal bow, “pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The boy—if he could he called that _at all_ —smirked lightly and leaned over the table.

“You may call me… Alucard.”


	2. deal with the devil

“ _Hellsing?_ Really?”

That seemed, for some reason, to set the guy off.

“Oh, _come on_.” He got up from his seat and seemed to want to wreak havoc, instead his features turned into a pout. “Even Mako-chan, who dragged me to watch that movie with Ran and Ren, didn’t guess the reference was from _Batman versus Dracula_ ,” he sat back in his chair, still pouting, but a little more calm.

Rin blinked, a couple of times, not quite expecting that reaction from this person. The “I’m sorry, I have never lived in America” excuse flew out of his mind the moment it came. Australia was somewhat close enough in culture (or so he assumed), and he couldn’t feign to not know anything about modern culture since he had attributed the name to a manga and the vampire had to be at least half a century older than he was.

“So,” Nagisa sighed, and moved a lot in the chair until he found a comfortable position with his feet on the back of his seat and his head on the edge, “Mako-chan said you wanted to tell me something?” Now that those chimerical eyes weren’t focused on him, Rin felt like he could think more clearly.

“Yeah,” he considered his words for a moment, before settling for a standard “I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

“Oh,” one of his fangs nibbles on his lips, as if considering. “You were pretty lucky. If you hadn’t been a supernatural, the venom would have turned you into something like a ghoul.”

Rin almost shuddered at the implications. “I know that,” he said, not presumptuously, “I was wondering if you would happen to know…

“Who attempted to murder you…?” Nagisa stared at him before shaking his head, as well as he could upside down. “When I arrived you were already half-bled. I didn’t catch anything that might hint to what happened,” he seemed to shrug, and continue counting the bits of dust in the air.

“In that case, would you help me find out?” He really hoped the vampire wouldn’t feel offended or reject his help. Despite all the magic that he had gathered, it would still not be enough to do all the work on his own, and since coming back to Japan, this Nagisa person had been the only one not trying to kill him. Even if just for the comfort company provided, he wanted to not do this alone.

Nagisa seemed to regard him for a moment. “What do I get out of this?” He asked, not quite malicious but not too generous. Rin thought he should have probably come more prepared, as it just occurred to him that probably offering his blood would be too intimate and more than a little offensive.

Then a thought came flying.

“I have been developing a potion that allows vampires to walk in the sunlight,” his father had been very pro-vampire and pro-werewolf, for some reason, and had instilled the same sentiment in him and Gou. “I can brew it to you and give it as a payment.”

Nagisa frowned for a second, before a grin spread across his face and made him look absolutely ravenous. Some evil part of Rin’s conscience whispered that death by random assassin had been a much better option.

“Well then,” he drawled, fangs fully out now and making the grin even creepier, “shall I call you ‘leader’?” Rin flushed before feeling blood rush through his face, instantly lighting it up like a Christmas decoration. His embarrassment became worse with the laugh that followed. “Kidding, kidding! I’m just messing with ‘cha, Rinrin.” He winked and absolutely all the cool that Rin could’ve had, was lost.

“ _Rinrin_?!” He did _not_ shriek. That would be embarrassing. Instead, he silently fumed and was left wondering if instead of making a deal with a vampire he hadn’t made a deal with the devil.


	3. trick or treat

“Nagisa, what exactly are we doing?” Rin shifted his weight from one foot to another, almost awkwardly. It shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise, considering how the first three minutes with the eccentric vampire had been, but he was still very much unaccustomed to standing in the middle of the street, people swarming everywhere, with a vampire costume.

“Isn’t it obvious, Rin-chan? We’re ‘trick or treat’ing!” Nagisa exclaimed, making it sound like it was a perfectly normal to go all the way to Harajuku just to ‘trick or treat’, as Nagisa had so nicely put it. Rin wanted to point out that a) only Americans ‘trick or treat’ed (he certainly didn’t see anyone carrying a bag of candy around any part of their cosplay), and b) this was supposed to be a part of the plan where Nagisa helps with his assassin, not where he goes fooling around in the middle of a crowded place.

This had started to look more and more like a bad three-act joke since the moment Rin had accepted to dress up as a vampire to accompany Nagisa (who, ironically [or most probably not], dressed up as a wizard).

They came to a halt in front of a weird café. If Rin had to guess, it was one of those thematic cafés people seemed to be so fond of nowadays. Nagisa stood still for a couple of seconds, then looked at Rin expectantly. It took a couple more seconds for him to realize what he wanted.

He opened the door, and muttered an ‘after you’, glad to discover Nagisa was able to enter thanks to his ‘invitation’.

“So chivalrous! So romantic!” Nagisa exclaimed, and giggled. Rin told himself he would feel better after they were done with his killer. He could not afford to get the vampire on his bad side, at the moment (no matter how cheerful he looks or how hard it is to rile him up).

Once the entrance issue was solved, Nagisa took the lead again, guiding them to a booth near the wall, and when they arrived, a waiter came to greet them.

“Shizu-chan!” (Despite his enthusiastic shout, a part of Rin couldn’t help but notice Nagisa’s eyes didn’t quite match his endless energy, something didn’t feel quite right here), “please tell Ayumu-chan I’ll be having the usual, and to prepare the less sugary thing on your menu, for Rin-chan here and our guest.” The waiter nodded, writing it all down on his small notebook, without batting an eye or even giving Rin a slight contemplation (he would have been offended if not for the fact that attention was the last thing he needed at the moment.)

(He was actually quite glad Nagisa had made him dress up as a vampire and wear a wig, and as he supposedly was a vampire, people wouldn’t look too closely into his red eyes or the reason his teeth were so pointy. He could go incognito for one night.)

“So,” Rin found himself saying, trying to get rid of his thoughts and the suddenly tense atmosphere, “you know them? More than as a customer, I mean. The way you called them seemed quite familiar,” not like Nagisa calling him _Rin-chan_ just a couple of day of having met him wasn’t _familiar,_ but Nagisa’s voice didn’t have quite the same fond ring to it as when he started listing his order.

“Oh,” Nagisa seemed to think out their response, “well, they’re humans I am fond of. I saved them once when they were children and they never judged me for what I was,” he smiled brightly again, and if the sparkle to his eyes was dimmer, Rin told himself he was just imagining it. “So Ayumu-chan makes drinks specially for me and— oh, our guest has arrived.”

One second later, the door opened and a man in a back suit entered. Rin wondered just how he had know that the person had arrived, before it occurred to him that, with Nagisa’s heightened senses, what Rin perceived as a susurrus, was actually some sort of full-volume orchestra to him.

Kinda took tinnitus to another level.

The man stopped in front of the table, and moments later ‘Shizu-chan’ had come back with their order. He placed it gingerly on the table, and Nagisa started to gulp on what seemed like a red smoothie of sorts.

The man was still unmoving.

Nagisa played with the straw for a little, an idle look into the droplets of sweat around the glass. “Say,” he muttered, and the synchronization with which Nagisa and the stranger smirked left lots of different emotions on Rin. “Trick—”

“—or treat.”


	4. decorations

Rin waited a few seconds in polite silence when the stranger sat besides Nagisa, staring at him up and down. He wanted to fidget a little from awkwardness, but the danger vibe he got from this person was stronger than the vibe he got from Nagisa in his worst moments. And so he kept still.

“He certainly is quite beautiful, Nagisa-kun,” thank Rin’s nerves he hadn’t drank anything, otherwise he would be spluttering it all over the table (quite not-beautifully, as this guy deemed that to be the first thing worthy of mention).

Nagisa had the decency to look sheepish. He leaned over to Rin, whispering a conspirative “Sorry, that was the only way to get Rei-chan’s help” like the person in question wasn’t sitting right next to him. He then seemed to mull over something, before muttering a “although you really look good, I wonder if all wizards are good-looking…”

Rin shuddered, and immediately got rid of the mental image Nagisa’s words had left him, opting instead to try and figure out the reason of their third.

“Nagisa-kun mentioned you needed my help to track down a certain individual,” as he spoke, he pushed the red-rimmed glasses up. His eyes were a surprising shade of purple, and instantly he found himself comparing them to Nagisa’s magenta, finding no relation whatsoever to the mirrors, “was that statement correct?” Rin blinked out of his small daze, and nodded.

“A couple of weeks ago, while returning home from a trip to the woods, I was attacked and left to die,” he worded, leaving emotions out of it. If the many small wrecks he had caused as a child had taught him anything, was that his powers were mainly fueled by emotion. And at the moment it would be a waste of the effort Nagisa had made for his costume if he did any emotion-induced magic.

“I see,” Rei agreed, then eyed Nagisa, who seemed very happy to sip on his (probably blood-spiked) drink and look back and forth on his companions. “As I’m very sure Nagisa-kun here hasn’t mentioned yet, I’m somewhat of a tracking demon; I’d usually request payment, but nowadays I’m simply content with admiring beauty…” he pushed his glasses up again, but while the former had been an attempt at looking more intimidating, this time it looked like a nervous habit… creepy.

Nagisa grinned and chirped in with an “I also let him have the souls of the animals when I go hunting!” and Rin was glad his own sheepishness set a glamour of sorts, as explaining why anybody would need sous or go hunting would be most troublesome.

“Nagisa-kun!” Rei sounded embarrassed, and also somewhat used to Nagisa’s antics and indiscretion. He looked around to see if anybody had heard that, and relieved by the fact that nobody had, he nodded to Rin in thanks. “That is… correct. So I am somewhat bound to help you.” He seemed a little reluctant, but Rin appreciated his help nonetheless.

Nagisa looked at his phone (and wasn’t that weird? Maybe it was because he hadn’t meet many vampires, and it was a little inconsistent of him to believe vampire stereotypes when he laughed at the wizard ones, but seriously the guy was a lot more advanced on some stuff than he was) before his eyes widened and he cast a look to Rin.

“We’re very sorry, Rei-chan., but we have to take our leave before someone starts an aubade,” he said, leaving a couple bills and some coins on the table, probably already knowing how much their meal was, and pulled Rin to his feet before he could properly take in the place’s decorations.


	5. candied apple

Rin laid on his bed, his eyes staring intently at the candied apple in his hand.

Nagisa had given it to him, declaring that he wasn’t to go home from ‘trick or treat’ing empty-handed. Even though he knew Rin wasn’t much for sweets…

He sighed.

He knew he should feel reassured from having a vampire on his side but… at the moment, he could not put a name to his emotions.

Maybe it was this time of the year, the one where he would mope around and remember his father even after all these years, and then also remember his sister and his mother, which would make him emotional and definitely not focused enough to get out of the range of whatever psycho was after his head.

His phone ringed.

He picked it up, and told himself to not be surprised that Nagisa’s name appeared at the screen, along with  fairly innocent “are you free?”.

That was the other thing: he didn’t quite know what to make of Nagisa yet. He acted like a kid most of the time, but seemed to be fairly level-headed when it came down to it, and far more perceptive than he let on. He also seemed dead-set on getting Rin to like him. Like he was dealing with a potential friend instead of someone who had come seeking their help. He wondered why Nagisa would care about him, a wizard’s whose lifespan (considering at least three murder attempts since he had gotten back to Japan) was ephemeral compared to the vampire’s.

But then again, he was also friends with a _demon_ of all creatures, a normal person and another wizard. What? Did he also have a werewolf friend? (At this point, he really wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Which made him wonder if he was friends with fellow vampires… for some reason, he couldn’t quite imagine Nagisa talking to other vampires.)

Would Nagisa answer all of this if he ever asked? He probably would, considering he seemed like an overly open person, borderline indiscreet, actually, but that’s what he _seemed._

He begrudgingly bit into the apple, idly wondering if poison or diabetes was a faster way to die.


	6. dead

Nagisa was not quite dead; many people believed his status as a vampire automatically translated to sempiternal, but ah, you see, for that you’d need to be quite alive, too. He could still be killed, and stuff like sunlight didn’t quite help matters, either.

But he was more resistant than the average human, or a wizard.

Nagisa didn’t quite know why he had taken such a blatant and passionate interest in protecting him, since the last time he had done that things hadn’t really ended up so well, and yet…

Who was he kidding? He knew perfectly well the reason for his interest, but he wasn’t about to blurt it out to Rin-chan. Contrary to what the wizard probably thought, he could get embarrassed (and wasn’t mystery the new sexy, anyways?).

He munched on some of the candies Mako-chan had bought for him (unfortunately that store in specific only had daylight opening hours, so he had to ask his friend to buy for him now and then), and sighed. Ah, what he wouldn’t do to get some fresh blood…

But he had given up on that. After seeing a human hissing in pain, their eyes unfocused, their skin cooling… no, Nagisa didn’t have the stomach to take on a human life, even if it would ultimately leave him better nourished than the animals he hunted at night.

He was powerful enough in his own right, after all.

A faint rustling sound could be heard behind him.

“What does she want now?” Nagisa inquired, still munching on his treat. (Honestly, if humans actually died from this then they surely died happy. He could eat a hundred of his rock-and-hopping breads and not need anything else for the rest of his existence [ah but that wasn’t quite right now was it?].)

A faint chuckle, and yet it was clear as day to Nagisa’s ears. “She only wants to talk to you, really; you haven’t gotten yourself out there, lately, and she wants to have a chat about you and your new… pet project.”

Nagisa grimaced. What a way to spoil a perfectly edible treat. He placed it on the coffee table in front of him, telling himself to clean the crumbs later, and, still not turning back to look at his companion, responded, “tell her she can go to hell, and that I’ll be there the day after tomorrow at seven.”

His past self would probably be horrified at how much hate he held for the woman (or how crudely he referred to her), but really, after all he had gone through, didn’t he deserve at least some respite from the guilt?

“Gladly,” the man said, some more rustling, “I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening, Hazuki.” And he was gone.

Nagisa flipped the table, barely holding up the urge to cry or to murder someone. After all, it had been anger what had led him to this, in the first place. He should have learned better by now.

That didn’t take out the bitter taste marmalade, cream and chocolate left in his mouth.


	7. undead

Recently, Rin had wondered what being undead was like. He supposed his experience at the morgue should be an example to that, of sorts, but he had been asleep through the whole process and he didn’t feel any different. Maybe that was the thing, he didn’t _feel_ different.

With a sigh, he turned the knob to Nagisa’s apartament door, and got in, listening some talking already.

“Incredible,” was it Rei? “his muscles are truly a sight to behold,” Rin could feel his eye twitching, “Kou-san and Isuzu-san would have a field trip admiring them.” Nagisa hummed, no doubt about to make a comment that would bring Rin’s blood to a boiling point.

“Definitely, Gou-chan would even if it’s—oh, Rin-chan, you came!” He sipped on a packet of milk, and then seemed to eat from an incredible array of candies. “Come,” he said patting the seat besides him, “Rei-chan and I were studying photos of the night you were attacked.” He then proceeded to start munching on one of those breads.

Rin closed the door and didn’t bother hiding his disbelief. “One, why do you have pictures of me,” he pointed to the copies Rei was studying, then at Nagisa’s stash, “second, how can you eat so much? I thought vampires were on a blood-strict diet…” he let that thought wander off, as Nagisa simply munched on one treat or another.

“Oh, Mako-chan was gracious enough to provide them,” he went to a matcha-flavored chips, somewhat making a point out of crunching on them loudly, “you know, he _does_ have to take pics for official purposes and stuff, but Rei-chan and I need to determine what attacked you, so we figured this was the best course of action!” He emphasized this with a fist to his open palm, crushing the bag and going for something else, and a grin lit up his face.

“And it is only normal I eat this much, after all, I’m a growing boy!” He declared proudly.

Rin stared at him, skeptical, because if anything, Nagisa was most definitely a ‘growing boy’. He set his stuff down and stretched a little before turning to Rei, who seemed to be more level-headed than last time.

“So, what have you discovered so far?” He leaned in, his eyes scanning the image.

It was somewhat eerie, watching your own body in a way that is supposed to be dead but it is not. He noticed some bites, and while most of the teeth were at the same level, two canines were a little too blatant. He looked up and noticed that Rei wore a similar expression to his own. The demon nodded.

“I believe, Rin-chan-san, that Nagisa-kun would be better to discuss this with,” he then continued staring at the pictures, and Rin looked at Nagisa hoping to receive an explanation.

Nagisa just seemed to noticed he was mentioned, for he stopped eating and actually payed attention to what they were doing. “Oh, if the person was a vampire, then the mark would only be the fangs,” he then willed his own to grow, and to Rin’s utter bewilderment, but into his wrist. Like he had said, only two small punctures were made. Rin watched somewhat fascinated as Nagisa licked the wounds and they started healing (he idly wondered if the properties of vampire saliva could be transferred to something else). Nagisa frowned, “a subjugate however…” he trailed off, and Rin noticed all of a sudden how tense his companion was.

“I guess we’ll have to meet the leader,” Nagisa suggested, somewhat doubting, and Rin wondered if Nagisa was trying to avoid eye contact.

“Ok,” Nagisa celebrated, and while his voice might not be the most euphonious thing, the random thought that he could come to appreciate it came


	8. magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to comment that I took Camille from Shadowhunter because I didn’t have a proper vampire villain, and I didn’t want to convert any Free! character into one for personal reasons (I was thinking on Hiyori but then again I felt bad). I also feel necessary to say that I’m using some concepts about wizards from Harry Potter (and all and any future references to onmyoji will be from Tokyo Babylon) but hear me out i swEAR that will be a relevant part of the plot later. ‘k? Thanks!

At the ending of their impromptu meeting, it had been decided that Rei would contact some rogue vampires that might know about a subjugate, while Nagisa was to accompany Rin to some other place.

Rin had been told it was some sort of clan, that while it was more of an American take, he couldn’t really find some other way to describe it. He had wanted to ask questions about what happened when a vampire wasn’t part of one of those “clans”. Say, what happened to Nagisa.

“I’m just too powerful for them, Rinrin,” the vampire had answered with a wink, that wasn’t as reassuring as Rin had hoped it would be.

So here they were, standing in front of a luxurious, yet not noticeable building.

Rin could tell that it wasn’t noticeable, there was some magic in it that would drive the people not welcome in it away, like a repellent of sorts. Did they get a foreign vampire to do these kind of spells? This was most definitely something an onmyoji would not try (something tugged at the back of his mind). (Another part of his mind whispered that at least something that was familiar was an advantage in foreign territory.)

“Well then,” Nagisa sighed, once he had decided this was it, “shall we enter?” And it was almost like he was pleading not to. Rin didn’t have to wonder too much to arrive to a reason why Nagisa had run away from this place.

Nagisa knocked on the front door, and another blond answered it. Rin saw whatever color Nagisa might have had on his face vanish.

The person on the door seemed not to notice, for he just smiled brightly upon seeing Nagisa and hugged him. “Nagisa-senpai!” he exclaimed, ignoring how stiff the vampire was. “I’m so happy to see you here! Did you come to visit?”

After Nagisa was, once again, unresponsive, the guy seemed to finally notice him. And at the way his pupil grew big, Rin felt adrenaline run cold through his back. Intellectually, he knew this person was more dangerous than he appeared, but what made his body react too? Could it be that vampire really possessed some sort of mind-related powers?

“Oh,” the guy answered quickly, his eyes darkened and his voice dragging. “Very well, follow me, Nagisa-senpai and… _you_.” He broke his hug with the older vampire and led them through the entrance. Rin was immediately taken in with how luxurious the genkan looked.

“That was Hayafune Romio-chan,” came Nagisa’s hollow voice, a couple of seconds later. Rin blinked a couple of times in confusion, and belatedly realized that the place was not only charmed against unwelcome guests, but also to allure preys. He could feel some of his magic depleting, and with no little amount of alarm did he think one of the charms fed on it, “one of the humans I used to care for.”

And yet, somehow, Nagisa’s voice seemed to anchor him, keep him present, could it be that he, too—

Clarity flooded his senses like a barricade, colors more vivid and sounds louder; he could also feel a warm pressure against his right hand. He stared at it, then at Nagisa who was sporting a subdued smile, and continued to follow Romio.

They arrived at something like a study, a couple more people already, all surrounding a beautiful woman. She was writing something, a couple of giggles escaping her lips, a radiance to her ways that would make you think she was writing a billet-doux. Romio was quick to kneel at her side, happy to bask in her, and her eyes lit up upon seeing her visitors. Rin felt some of his control slipping,  hazy feeling taking over.

“Ah, Nagisa-chan, dear, come over.”

Rin held onto Nagisa’s hand for dear life.


	9. devil's advocate

~~~~ Rin sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a human being. A normal one, that is.

He likes to wonder whether he’d be the brainy sort of guy, or ir he’d be the brawny sort of guy. (Then again, despite his magic he also exercised, for he knew it could come in handy one in a while… unless you’re sparring a vampire.) So perhaps he’d be able to balance both studies and sports as a human?

This was the kind of thoughts that came to him as he tried to shoo away whatever persuasion the vampiress was trying to impress on him.

Nagisa had given him an ominous warning, the day before. And somehow, he could still picture his bubbly friend, jumping in the rain at midnight like a downright pluviophile, yelling “Rin-chan, when we’re there, please remember who you are” like it belonged more to him instead of in a kid’s movie.

What kind of person, really?

He couldn’t understand what was wrong. Because there was something wrong. Ah, Nagisa felt so uneasy besides him. What happened to the little brother (and wasn’t it weird to think of a vampire like that)? A solemn look didn’t look quite right.

But he was so relaxed. He could feel something tugging in his mind, but the desire to just lay to rest and do whatever the woman in front of him said was too tempting, why didn’t he.

“Rin-chan.”

Nagisa.

_ “Rinrin.” _

Nagisa.

He could feel it. He could see it. To some degree. A voice tugging in his mind.

“Stay with me.”

So he tried.

The woman got up from her seat, the dress she wore being nothing short of revealing, she set her eyes on Rin for a second, and after finding him unresponsive, she set them on Nagisa instead.

_ Nagisa. _

“I see you did come; who would have thought a wizard was so important to you?” Nagisa  _ hissed _ when the woman tried to touch his face, or at least it sounded like a hiss, was Steve alright? After all he had left him as a baby kitten with Gou. Ah, were they alright too? He had promised to protect them and yet…

“What did you want?” The woman, however, didn’t seem taken aback by his callous response, she seemed, if anything, thrilled to be eliciting such a response from him.

“My, my; right down to business are we? Why, I just wanted to meet your friend,” she draped herself over the table in front of them, and Rin wanted so much to touch her but Nagisa’s hand at his side didn’t allow him to.

“He’s under my protection,” he stated, and brought Rin closer to him. A sort of elation ran through him.

“Ah,” a coy smile, blink blink, “just like Romio-chan was?” Rin’s mind registered that she almost used the nickname as a joke, and he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Nagisa’s fangs were almost baring out.

This woman—Camille, someone in the room had answered—looked like someone who was getting right what she wanted. “Oh, maybe then I should ask someone who knows him, maybe… Kou?”

_ Kou…? _

_ GOU! _

_ Go… _

u.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Nagisa was definitely hissing, and seething by the looks of it, Rin remembered not to cross him when he was actually angry, or else.

“Oh, but she’s such a nice onmyouji! I bet she’d be willing to at least talk about stuff,”  _ unlike a certain someone, _ he heard in his head, and clenched his fists. “Or maybe her special friend would be open too…?”

Nagisa stood up, bringing a tumbling Rin with him, and proclaimed that “Stay away from them! They are under my protection,” his eyes wandered to Romio, who seemed unaware to whatever was wrong in the room, “and if you hurt them further, you’ll have to answer to me.”

That, and his footsteps clicking behind him, and he dragged Rin back to the entrance, sounded like an ultimatum.

Once outside the building, he felt a pair of lips connect to his own, and like the hand holding at the beginning, he felt sobriety hit him like a barricade.

He stumbled back, almost falling flat on his butt, but fortunately Nagisa had the foresight to catch him.

“I’m sorry, Rin-chan, that was the only way to get you back.” He smiled apologetically, and Rin forgave him.

“It’s no problem,” he thought he should thank him for playing devil’s advocate back then, but found he was too drained to do so. “Let’s go back,” he said, and Nagisa nodded, “take me home” (please).

And he did.


	10. lair

Rin woke up the next day, not quite feeling like last night had been real.

After Nagisa had gotten him away to what he decided to name as The Lair, things had only gotten more confusing, if that was possible. Mostly just him getting weird ideas.

Nagisa had said it was only to break him out of his trance, which, with Nagisa’s behaviour (i.e. having no shame about his private life whatsoever), was something logical. But Nagisa had sounded so apologetical, too much for it to be normal (or so he thought. Could it be that after all these assassination attempts he was going paranoid?)

Suddenly the question of whether it was redamancy appeared on his mind.


	11. rotten

Rei scrunched up his nose in disgust as he entered the part of the forest he had agree to meet Nagisa on. Apparently he had gone hunting again, if the smell of rotten flesh was anything to go by.

“Nagisa-kun,” he said aloud, knowing that Nagisa would know he was here, due to his enormous hearing range. And true to this, he arrived in little more than thirty seconds.

“Ah, you finally came, Rei-chan; I found some squirrels and wild cats that you might want,” he grabbed the demon’s hand, ready to bolt, but he felt Rei’s hand pushing him to stay in his place. He could almost hear Nagisa’s thoughts coming to a stop, too. He turned around, frown questioning, “Rei-chan?”

Rei adjusted his glasses, even if he didn’t need them to see, it was part of his human costume. “While you met with Camile, did you encounter the subjugate that tried to off Rin-chan-san?”

Nagisa’s eyes widened for a second, before going back to their subdued state. “Yeah,” he admitted, his hand falling to his side. Rei sighed, and grabbed the young vampire by his shoulders.

“Have you told him yet?” Nagisa shook his head.

“He’s still recovering from going there, I don’t want to burden him yet with that. I’m pretty sure he’s paranoid enough as it is,” he seemed like he wanted to cry, something Rei hadn’t seen since a couple of years ago. “He’ll start distrusting me if it turns out I know who tried to kill him and didn’t tell him when I knew. I need time to break it to him.”

Rei nodded, taking a deep breath. “I think that the best strategy with Rin-san is to be honest. He seems to trust you implicitly because you have been nothing but honest to him—even on the things people should not be honest on.” He smiled at the vampire, trying to be, if not reassuring, assertive.

He didn’t want his friend to feel lachesism like he did when he was turned. Jumping in the middle of crowded roads, opening the window at daytime, or that one time he tried to verify whether a wooden stake really kills vampires. If it hadn’t been for that person, Nagisa would have succeeded.

Rei was very much amazed with Nagisa. Even when the latter was only a human, he had been an extraordinary one at that; always willing to show him why humans were worth not killing, why humans were beautiful—not only aesthetically wise. And when he had been turned, Rei had been amazed at how powerful he had been, because apparently age played no factor in him. The powers only vampires who had been turned when they were in their late twenties, or of those at least two centuries old had, Nagisa had them after being turned at seventeen.

He’d probably not admit it to anyone, but he had grown fond of humans, and he was glad that Nagisa had been able to found a solution by giving him animal souls, for he’d hate to take that from creatures that could exude so much beauty.

“You said something about wild cats?” he said once the silence had become uncomfortable.

Nagisa grinned, and pulled him towards the woods. “Your favorite, right?”


	12. holy

Nagisa was sitting amused at the border of Rin’s window, a little hum from the wind to accompany him.

“You ready, Rin-chan?” The vampire asked, falling back and hanging from a branch in a tree in front of Rin’s window.

“Do you promise it won’t be something like last time?” Despite the tone and his reticence, Rin hadn’t actually made such a big deal about it, he just needed a little time to mull it over and try to think of a more effective strategy than drooling over a vampiress.

“Pinky swear!” Nagisa held out his pinky finger, upside-down as he was hanging from the tree, his face scrunched up in concentration like that promise was something holy. Rin would sometimes be amused at the ease with which Nagisa could seem so much younger than he  actually was—and not just physically-wise.

Rin rolled his eyes, but complied nonetheless. He reached out to the hand and gave the pinky a slight squeeze. “Okay,” he agreed, and hung a beanbag over his shoulders that contained some potions that might come of use should he come to harm (okay so perhaps the encounter with Camile had been a little more than he was willing to admit, but could you blame him?). “Let’s go.”

Nagisa seemed to notice the things he was bringin and frowned a little. “Ah, I already told Rin-chan: I’m not bringing you to people who will try to harm you.”

Rin wanted to reply that maybe Nagisa just thought the best of people. He sighed and tried not to come off as patronizing.

“I know,” he stated, and took the hand Nagisa was offering to climb out of the window. Once they were safely on the floor, Nagisa nodded to his back and made signs that he would carry him.

“You know we can’t really catch a train at this hour, and the place I have in mind is a little far from Tokyo,” he explained, “this is going to be like lightning fast, so you better hold on tight, Rinrin.”

He wanted to deadpan. He really did. But it was midnight, he really should fix his sleep schedule, and he wanted to be done with whatever idea Nagisa had in mind; so he climbed onto the vampire’s back, a sense of rubatosis fogging his hearing, and just the general ‘I give up’ his mind had been chorusing to contrast the slight wind against his ears.

“Are you ready?” Rin nodded, not really ready to leave his stomach behind. “Okie dokie!”

And when Nagisa had said it was lightning fast, holy shit he had  _ not _ been kidding. Because one moment they had been outside Rin’s apartment in Tokyo and now they were… in Sano?

“Nagisa, what are we—” he got interrupted by the lack of air in his lungs, and proceeded to wheeze for a little before the pressure finally went away, “—doing here?”

Nagisa smiled sheepishly, “sorry,” he offered, “that takes a little getting used to.” He layed Rin on the ground, a hand under his elbow in case he still needed support. “We came to see someone. There are a couple of onmyoji clans we can collect info from,” he explained, waiting for Rin’s mind to catch up.

Rin took a couple more deep breaths, trying to stabilise himself, before taking a couple of steps without Nagisa’s hand to support him.

“Okay, let’s go talk to onmyojis.”


	13. they rise

Rin felt a rather strong nodus tollens as he watched his mother chat amiably with Nagisa over green tea and dangos.  _ Tsukimi had been well over a week ago. _

“I’m glad to hear you have been alright, Nagisa,” was one of the phrases with which he recovered his focus, and tried not to feel the awkwardness of the situation (and perhaps the tinge of jealousy that Nagisa seemed to get along with his mother better than he did).

“I’m happy that you and Gou-chan are alright, too, Miyako!” Wait, they were on first-name basis? How could he miss that? He tried not to look too surprised looked around.

Most of the furniture was the same he remembered from when he was a child, some pictures framed, a couple of trophies he had earned in elementary when he still went to a normal school, and other than some pictures of Gou with a friend of his (which was probably Chigusa, if he remembered correctly from her letters), and then with… were those the Mikoshiba brothers from Samezuka? Wait,  _ three _ Mikoshibas? (A conversation appeared at the front of his mind, of Seijuurou telling him he kind of understood the overprotectiveness that came with being a big brother.) A smile crept over his face at the soft, purring noise. Steve, the only one out of all the strays he took home that stayed, was taking a nap in one of the couches. He reached out a hand, the urge to scratch him behind his ears too strong to ignore. “Hey, Steve—” before he could do it, though, the cat leapt from the couch and out of his reach. A resigned, if slightly disbelieving expression set on his face. (He felt another pang of guilt for all the time he didn’t come home more often, or all the time he stopped reading the letters and answering them.)

He was shaken out of his reverie with the sound of the front door opening, a sing-song “I’m home” followed by the typical “welcome back” from his mother, and the rustling of shoes being taken off and laid on the genkan (he flushed remembering his had been almost thrown off, not caring much if they were a little disarranged). There was silence for a couple of seconds, and Rin could practically  _ feel _ the shock from where he was standing, before he heard his sister’s steps rushing from the entrance to where they were.

“Onii-chan!” And suddenly her arms were around his neck; Rin wanted to be less shocked than he was, but he could only bring himself to pat Gou’s back as she started chanting a “you’re back” in-between small hiccups.

He then caught Nagisa’s eyes, who had stopped talking with Miyako for a second before nodding reassuringly, and the horrible heaviness in the pit of his stomach—the guilt of having been away for so long—, suddenly became relief from finally being back.

“And I don’t intend to go anywhere,” he told Gou, steadying both of them from where they had kneeled on the ground as they rose.


End file.
